KDBookOnline
Share Us
“Charming,” he muttered, already turning toward the door.
The tears came before it clicked shut.
Chapter Six
I spent the night fighting sleep, terrified of what might happen when I closed my eyes. But I had pulled a full shift before coming here and barely slept before that. When the call of sleep became too heavy to resist, I dragged a heavy velvet armchair in front of the door, locked it, and collapsed on the chair. A sharp knock startled me awake what felt like a minute later, and I forgot where I was for a moment.
I stared at the door, wondering if I’d imagined the knock in the dreamless state between sleep and waking. But a muffled voice called, “I’d prefer not to break the door down. It’s an antique.”
Something told me he would dare to break it down, so I shoved the chair away from it. Drawing my shoulders back, I unlocked it.
Gage filled the doorway but didn’t enter. His eyes skirted to the chair, his brow raising slightly, a smile ghosting over his lips. “Was there a problem with the bed?”
Heat flooded my cheeks. “Better safe than sorry.”
His nostrils flared. “Locking your door will suffice.”
“Will it?” I crossed my arms. “Why should I trust you?”
“You shouldn’t.” He shrugged, tipping his head in silent request.
I groaned and stepped to the side. “That was refreshingly honest.”
“Not honest. A simple fact. I will assume that if your door is locked, you do not want it to be opened. Besides,” he added, a wicked gleam in his eyes, “I can nip inside regardless of locks or whatever fortress you contrive.”
“Nip?” I asked faintly.
He grinned and snapped his fingers.
The world swept from under us, but before I could scream, my feet found solid ground. My stomach churned as I stared around the dining room I’d explored yesterday. It wasn’t empty now. Guards were stationed in the doorways, hands folded, eyes trained to some vacant spot in the distance. There were no guns in sight, but I suspected they had them holstered under their black jackets. The fact that they looked almost bored made them more menacing than if I could see their weapons.
Gage ignored them as he walked to the far end of the black stone table, where three place settings were laid. The silver-haired guard from last night at the Avalon—Roark, I recalled—looked up from his phone and gave me a silent nod hello. He was as huge as Gage now, maybe bigger, and he had those same pointed ears and strange tattoos. Handsome in a brutal way. He looked like he’d been chiseled from ancient stone, hewn from the primordial elements that made up the world. Gage stopped at the seat across from Roark and pulled out a chair but didn’t sit. It took me a moment to realize he was waiting for me.
I didn’t quite trust my legs yet after he’d used that finger-snapping trick on me. “Let me guess. Nipping?”
“It’s more convenient than walking. We nip from here to there with a snap of our fingers.” He held up his hand, and I shrank back a step, waiting to be whisked to another place, but he only laughed and gestured to the chair. “Breakfast is getting cold.”
Platters heaped with sausages, eggs, and pastries appeared, and hunger rumbled inside me. I knew how long a human could survive without food. My stomach did not. “I think I prefer walking,” I grumbled but started slowly toward the table.
“You’ll get used to it.”
Some of my appetite evaporated at the implication of those words. I’d get used to it because this was my new life, my new world. By the time I reached the seat, I no longer wanted to eat at all.
Gage piled his own plate full of food, frowning when I didn’t do the same. He waved a hand, and a bowl of strawberries appeared between us. He picked it up and held it out.
I didn’t move.
“It’s perfectly safe to eat.” He plucked a particularly large berry and bit into it as proof.
“I’m not hungry.”
Across from me, Roark watched over his phone but didn’t say anything. He also wasn’t eating. I got the impression he was holding back a smile, though.
Gage took another strawberry. “Is that your plan, then?”
“Plan?” I tried to sound innocent.
“I assume you’ve been plotting how to get out of our bargain.” He tossed a stem onto his plate. “I’d be disappointed if a hunger strike is the best you’d come up with.”